Cajun Crawfish Pie
A site dedicated to Cajuns & Louisiana!
Recommended
Sponsors
Sponsor Links
Very Useful
Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board was established by the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1990 to investigate allegations of lawyer misconduct, and to make recommendations to the Louisiana Supreme Court if discipline is warranted. In short, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board must take accusations of complaints against Louisiana lawyers, come to some form of decision on whether the lawyer is guilty of misconduct or not, and then pass their findings on to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
The process begins with the Louisiana lawyer. When each lawyer swears his or her oath they also promise to follow the rules of professional conduct. These rules are designed by the Supreme Court to ensure that the public's faith it its legal system is unwavered. In other words, the rules are created to make sure that lawyers are seen as upholders of the rule of law, and not as criminals that are working from within the system to their immoral advantage. Some common guidelines that are found within the rules that are often the subject of any complaints includes: attorney co-mingling client's funds with his, lawyer failing to properly communicate with his client, attorney malpractice issues, and lawyer issuing worthless checks.
If a client believes that her lawyer has violated any of the rules of professional conduct, then the client should file a complaint with the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. The complaint may be made in any writing that includes your name, phone number, address, attorney's name, and any important facts. The client may also request a complaint form from the Board by contacting them at 800-326-8022. Whichever method is used, the client should then forward the written complaint to: Office of the Disciplinary Counsel, 4000 S. Sherwoof Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70816. After submitting the complaint form, the Board will forward a copy of the complaint to the lawyer. The lawyer must then respond, and the client will receive a copy of this response. If the matter is settled based upon these findings, the case is dismissed. If it is not settled, the case will move on with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for prosecution.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) will take the role of prosecutor at this stage. The ODC will do further investigations on the manner, and eventually file a formal charge if necessary. In some minor cases, the Louisiana lawyer may just be given an admonition that will be placed on his record. If the charges are more serious, a hearing will be held. At the hearing there are three members that will decide the issue, composed of two attorneys and one layman. These hearings are open to the public, and are very similar to a trial. Evidence is kept, records are made, and those providing testimony must be sworn in.
After the hearing, a formal report is made for submission to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. If the hearing committee found that discipline of the attorney is called for, the Board will usually allow oral arguments once again. The Board may then decide to give a public admonition to the lawyer, in which case it ends here. The Board may also decide to recommend the suspension or disbarment of the Louisiana lawyer, in which case its findings are forwarded to the Louisiana Supreme Court for review. The Supreme Court may then decide to suspend or disbar the lawyer, or not to, after oral arguments are again made.
If you are in need of an attorney within Louisiana for any kind of case (criminal, personal injury, admiralty or maritime, contract, workers compensation, or other), the Louisiana Attorney Discipline Board is an excellent source of information. Before hiring any lawyer in Louisiana, you may wish to contact the Board to determine if the lawyer has been disciplined in the past, since all records are made public. You may contact them at 800-326-8022.